April 15, 2015
Delaware News
The News Journal
Test scores could help kids get out of remedial classes
High school juniors who do well on the state’s tough new standardized test will not have to take remedial classes if they attend a Delaware college or four-year university, state leaders announced Tuesday.
WDEL
Smarter Balanced scores to help Delaware’s college-bound students avoid remedial classes
Delaware high school juniors who score a 3 or 4 on the state’s new Smarter Balanced assessment can now be assured they won’t be relearning the same material their first year in college–as long as they’re attending the University of Delaware, Delaware State University, Wilmington University, or Delaware Tech.
The Office of Governor Markell
Delaware colleges say Smarter Balanced assessments are good measure of college readiness
Press release
Students who do well will not have to pass placement tests and can take credit-bearing courses.
National News
Education Week
Why colleges should care about the Common Core
Commentary by Harold G. Levine & Michael W. Kirst
The common-core learning experiences of college-bound students can be a bridge to a more enriching educational experience only if the institutions they are entering are ready for them.
What are states doing with college-readiness test results?
Blog by Catherine Gewertz
The Education Commission of the States suggests in a policy brief that policymakers use the results of college-readiness tests like PARCC and SBAC to “make the senior year more meaningful.” That would involve using results to provide needed supports, interventions or advanced coursework for high school seniors. Developing policies that use scores from those tests for college admissions or course placement would be a way to “signal college readiness”. Relatively few states have taken any of those steps, however, according to the ECS.
Cleveland.com
Should kids know how to write in cursive? Some Ohio lawmakers think so
– State Rep. Cheryl Grossman says too many kids don’t even know how to read cursive handwriting, let alone write with it. So she and several other state legislators want cursive to be required again in all elementary schools in Ohio. If the just-proposed House Bill 146 passes, cursive would again be a mandatory part of elementary education.
The Hechinger Report
Teachers unions on the rise again in New Orleans, 10 years after charters pushed them out
Teachers sporting “proud to be charter and union” buttons filled almost every seat in Morris Jeff Community School’s library on Tuesday in anticipation of the New Orleans campus’ board of directors vote to recognize their union.
Chalkbeat New York
Regents seek extension for districts on teacher eval deadlines
State education officials don’t think lawmakers have set a realistic timeline for districts to make changes to teacher evaluation plans that schools are required to use by fall.